ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity Review (TF700)

In the world of Android tablets, which -- and let's be perfectly honest here -- has been less than inspiring of late, there consistently has been one bright spot. That would be Taiwanese manufacturer ASUS, best known as a motherboard supplier, which burst onto the scene in the spring of 2011 with a crazy tablet-keyboard laptop-esque hybrid that, surprisingly enough, got a good many things right on the first try.

ASUS followed up the EeePad Transformer in late 2011 with the Transformer Prime, mostly improving on the original design (so long as GPS wasn't too important to you).

And that brings us to the new ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity. (Also known as the TF700.) Announced in January 2012 -- only a month or so after the Transformer Prime hit the streets -- the Infinity, as we're wont to call it, should look familiar. It's cut from the same cloth with a 10.1-inch display and optional keyboard dock. We got our first look at it at Mobile World Congress in late February in Barcelona.

So how's this one stand up? read on for our full ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity review.

The one-take walkthrough

The Transformer Pad Infinity hardware

If you're familiar with ASUS' line of tablets -- or, hell, tablets in general, you'll be able to find your way around the Infinity just fine. Out front is the aforementioned 10.1-inch "Super IPS+" display. (That Super IPS+ business is code for "looks great!") Like Acer's new A700, it's got the highest resolution of any Android tablet yet at 1920x1200, but it still doesn't match up to the latest iPad, which is at 2048x1536. That gives the Infinity about 224 pixels per inch, while the iPad is at 264 pixels per inch. Side by side, you can tell the difference. But the Infinity holds its own just fine. You'll also hear ASUS boasting about the display's 178-degree viewing angle, which is fine. It's also a greater angle than you're likely to ever realistically have to view the display at.

Like the Transformer Prime, the Infinity has an outdoor mode that cranks things up to 600 nits of brightness, at the expense of battery life, of course. The whole thing's covered in Gorilla Glass 2.

The front of the Infinity looks like a tablet. Big black bezel, big display with a front-facing camera on the top. Been there, done that.

The bottom bezel houses ASUS' proprietary data/charging port, along with connectors for the optional keyboard dock. The left-hand bezel has the 3.5 mm headphone jack, microSD card slot, microHDMI port and a pinhole mic. (There's another pinhole mic on the opposite bezel.)

The top edge has a small power button and a large volume rocker. We don't usually have much to say about volume rockers, but the Infinity's is pretty uninspiring, with a little more wiggle to it than we'd expect, and not much actual left-right action.

Flip the Infinity over, and you'll quickly be reminded of the Transformer Prime. The back's done up in the same stylish brushed metal, with ASUS' logo at the center. A fairly major change, however, is three-quarters of an inch of plastic that line the top, enclosing the rear-facing camera. A major complaint of the Transformer Prime was that GPS flat-out didn't work for many people, and ASUS was forced to provide a GPS accessory to fix things. We've not seen such issue in the Infinity, and we're willing to bet this plastic section's a big part of that.

Under the hood is the same quad-core Tegra 3 set that we've come to know and love over the past six months or so. If you're into particulars, it's the Tegra 3 T33, running at a maximum speed of 1.6 GHz when in multi-core mode. And don't forget about that fifth companion core that takes care of the low-power tasks, saving on battery life. The Infinity's got 1GB of DDR3 RAM.

And speaking of battery life, it's equally excellent on the Infinity. No real surprise there, though, as it's got 25 Wh for the tablet itself, and an additional 19.5 Wh when connected to the keyboard dock. (And don't forget that you don't have to charge them separately.)

Let's talk storage: The Infinity comes in either 32- or 64-gigabyte models. We've go the 64GB version here, with somewhere in the neighborhood of 56GB free for us to use as we see fit. But don't forget about that microSD card on the tablet, and the full-size SD card on the keyboard, and the ability to serve as a USB host. (Plus whatever cloud storage you happen to use, whether its the 8GB of free space you get from ASUS, or someone else's.) Even if you opt for the smaller on-board storage size, this is still one of the most versatile devices around when it comes to saving and accessing files.

The ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity keyboard

ASUS is no stranger to slightly undersized keyboards, dating back to the old Eee PC netbook days. That easily translated to the Transformer line, and it continues with the Infinity. While this new keyboard has a new model number, it's a dead-ringer for the keyboard from the Transformer Prime, In fact, you can use the Transformer Prime keyboard with the Infinity tablet -- and that'll save upgraders $150.

Connecting the keyboard to the tablet is as easy as every -- just slide it into the hinge until the locks engage. (That said, the lock on our review unit was acting a little finicky. We'll keep an eye on that as more folks get the device.) Once connected, the tablet automatically recognizes the keyboard and activates things on the software side, with a satisfying "ding" to let you know you did it right.

The chicklet-style keys are as good as ever, with just the right amount of travel. What we wouldn't give for some backlighting though. (But what the heck. You can't have it all.)

The Infinity keyboard's trackpad still leaves us wanting, though. Touch scrolling is decent enough, and multitouch is nice, though we'd love to see it enabled in more applications. Once you get out of the home screens, it's a crapshoot. The single click-button requires too much pressure, though you'll get used to it over time. (We freely admit we're spoiled by the Mac's trackpad, though. Everything else pales in comparison.)

The keyboard uses the tablet's charging/data port to connect. As such, there's a duplicate port on the keyboard, along with a charging indicator light. (Again, just like previous versions of this set.)

The opposite side of the keyboard is sporting a full-size SD card (protected by a dummy card), and a full-size USB port (with a handy rubber insert that you're destined to lose). Also like previous versions, you can plug in a mouse, or keyboard, gamepad or pretty much anything else you want.

Thinking back to the original Transformer, it's plain to see that ASUS has been hard at work at slimming down the hinge connector. While it's still readily apparent, it's also about as slim as we imagine it can get. All in all, the connected tablet and keyboard are no thicker than 19.6 mm -- a little more than one of the newfangled MacBook pros. (Though nobody's going to mistake the two anytime soon.)

But let's get down to brass tacks. How's typing on it? An impromptu online typing test netted about 85 words per minute -- about the same as on my trusted Logitech keyboard. While the Infinity's keyboard isn't quite full-size (think netbook-ish at 180.8 mm wide), it's still darn good.

The ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity software

As you'd expect, the Infinity is running Ice Cream Sandwich -- Android 4.0.3, to be exact. If you've used an Android tablet released in the past 18 months, you'll be right at home here. Same home screens, same app drawer. ASUS has its usual location/weather widget and e-mail and calendar widgets out front, along with a smattering of app icons. (And it all looks as professional as ever with the cool tree-on-a-hill wallpaper.)

There's not a lot to say about ASUS' customizations -- there really aren't a lot that affect the way the Infinity looks. Behind the scenes it's a little different, with a slew of customizations focused on the keyboard. Again, not new for ASUS, but it's that sort of attention to details that makes the Transformer line work, and not just a series a buttons attached to a tablet.

Also of note is ASUS' customization to the System Bar's notification area. You've got quick access to a bunch of settings, including the display overdrive, CPU modes, rotation lock, Wifi, etc. Another great touch from ASUS.

Like pre-loaded apps? ASUS has 'em. (Again, that's not exactly new for the Transformer line.) App backup and password protection, ASUS' own multimedia store, DLNA streaming, web store, TegraZone, plus all the usual Google apps, along with Polaris Office. So there's plenty there to get you started.

And that, as they say, is that.

The Transformer Pad Infinity cameras

ASUS is making a little bit of a fuss over the Infinity's cameras, with the rear shooter being of the 8MP variety with an F2.2 aperture and backside illumination and all that jazz. And it's not horrible. But then again, it doesn't (and can't) do anything about the fact that you're holding at best a 10.1-inch tablet (or, at worst, a 10.1-inch Android netbook), and there's nothing cool about that. Not that we're looking a gift horse in the mouth, though.

The camera app is stock Android (or close enough), so you don't get too many bells and whistles. But, again, it's a tablet, so that's not too surprising.

The rear-facing camera​

The front-facing camera

Other odds and ends

We mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: The GPS problems seen in the Transformer Prime appear to have been fixed in the Infinity. We took it for a spin around town -- with and without an Internet connection -- and the Infinity kept pace.

No problems with Bluetooth, either.

There's only one speaker on the back of the tablet, and that's a shame -- we miss actual stereo sounds, especially while playing games.

We're still looking at a relatively heavy package here, though. The tablet itself is about 20 ounces. With the keyboard attached, that jumps to nearly 40 ounces, or nearly 2.5 pounds.

The wrap-up

The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity doesn't break any barriers here. It's a fairly well-established paradigm at this point -- a great Android tablet married to a netbook-esque keyboard. And ASUS has continued to refine the physical design while increase internal hardware.

Put it this way: If you've used the Transformer Prime, or even the original Transformer, you'll be right at home. The increased resolution is a welcome change, as well as the increased options for internal storage. If you've currently got a Transformer Prime and can live with the lesser screen resolution, there's not much reason to upgrade. (Though not having to buy another keyboard certainly lessens that blow.)

As it stands, you'll be paying $499 for the 32GB model, and $599 for the 64GB model. (That's $100 less than an iPad for those two storage options.) The keyboard dock runs another $150. And, yes, at that point you've spent enough to buy a relatively decent Windows laptop.

But the bottom line is this: In the world of Android tablets, there's none better than the ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity. And the ability to convert to an Android tablet only makes it that much better.

ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity Review (TF700)

"highest resolution of any Android tablet yet".. Is there an Android tablet with higher? No. Then it has the highest resolution of any Android tablet yet, regardless if there's already another out with the same resolution!!

"highest ... yet" means that it is higher than anything that has come before it. Which it is not. It's the same as the A700 - which will have been out for a pretty long time before the TF700 is actually available to consumers.

its not the same thing as the tf700 In fact the Acer a700 is nothing more then a Ionia a501 with a new name and from every thing I have read about the a701 it does not have the ass to run the software and apps because they did as little hardware upgrades as they could to rush it out the door. So its pretty much the a501 with a sticker on it saying its a new a700 .... IE the Ionia a700 is junk compared to the Asus tf700t

It's true that at $650 you can get a decent Windows 7 laptop, but likely not one with a 1920x1200 screen and 14 hours of battery time. So in the end your choice depends on your use-cases -- if you want to be more mobile and the compact hi-res screen is a factor, get the ASUS transformer, if you have specific software (or periferal HW, such as optical disk drives) needs tying you to Windows, get the laptop...

What I want to know...which isn't getting mentioned here, is ... The way the web browser operates. On my original Transformer TF101 and also the Prime etc. The lag on web pages is ridiculous. You get to about 80% of the page loaded, then it just stops for anywhere from seconds to a minute....and then the browser might decide to close. Even on 3rd party browsers...same thing. I've experienced this myself and read it in numerous reviews. If this is the same Tegra processor, and same version (which it is) of ICS, then how will this tablet be any better on doing web browsing??

The Surface Pro isn't going to have to work too hard to get my money over the TF700. A bigger screen. Full blown Windows. And the fact that the keyboard/cover can be flipped around to the back, so you can use it like a regular tablet, and the keyboard automatically turns off, so you don't accidentally type while you're using it that way? That's just about enough right there to sell me. I had an iPad 2 briefly and that SmartCover was/is one of the biggest selling points, to me, over, for example, my TouchPad running ICS.

I mean, I want a cover for my tablet, right? But, I don't want it to be a PITA. One thing that has held me off from buying a TF is just that. If I attach the keyboard, what do I do with it when I want to use the TF on an airplane as a tablet (i.e. not "laptop" style)? Pull it off and stick it somewhere? And what protects the keyboard when I do that? And what protects the screen once I've take the keyboard off? Do I have to travel with the keyboard AND a cover for the TF screen? And some kind of cover for the keyboard when it's detached?

That is the beauty of the Surface, to me. They keyboard is there when you want it, but not a PITA when you just want to use it as a tablet (i.e. not "laptop" style). AND the Surface is still thin with the keyboard/cover on.

Now with the Surface Pro looming, I'm thinking I should wait. I wanted the Infinity because of the higher res and the keyboard dock, but the Surface Pro promises a tablet that's a full blown Windows PC with a tablet interface, and a cover that doubles as a keyboard.

The only thing is the weight. The unit itself is said to be around 2lbs. Light for a netbook, but heavy for a tablet. It should be a little more than 2lbs with the cover, so no reason to leave it off, unlike the keyboard dock for the Infinity.

And there is Android vs full blown Windows. With Direct Access, there is no reason why the Surface Pro can't be my work PC and play tablet.

It'll have an on-screen keyboard as well. From the demo, I was impressed with their keyboard -- looked like a completely novel solution. I'm sure there will be excellent writing recognition as well. In brief, I'm not worried at all about text entry options with the Surface.

I do feel that this is a pretty lazy, phoned-in review, but I think that this tablet deserves one. It could have been a 7-word review, and still told you everything that you need to know: "it's the Prime, with a better screen." That's all it is—a spec bump for a tablet that everyone was excited about for 10 minutes, but no one actually bought.

I guess it's also noteworthy that the best best 10-inch Android tablet that money can buy, but even that is not worth getting excited about. If you read comments at any of the non-Android-specific tech sites, you'll see two things written about this tablet... Everyone will be saying that they "can't wait to see this thing running Windows RT, and "for $500, I'll just buy an iPad, which has a better screen and better apps."

The Infinity was interesting when it was announced 6 months ago. There's nothing exciting about it now.

What do you mean "no one actually bought"? You obviously weren't paying attention around the time that the Prime actually went on sale, cause they couldn't even fill all the pre-orders. Amazon actually started cancelling pre-orders at one point, because they didn't think they'd be able to ship as many as were ordered. Every local box store (at least around me, I know of 5) had a waiting list leading up to Christmas and were saying it could be months to get to the bottom of the list. My mom picked one up shortly after Christmas from the one store that refused to do a list and just said "first-come-first-serve" and ended up getting their shipment late, so no one realized that they had a bunch right after Christmas.

And, BTW, she *loves* her Prime. It might not have matched the iPad sales for January, but Asus was literally selling the things faster than they could make them.

That is the ONLY thing that Phil actually needed to talk about in this review, and it didn't even get a nod. Most Android apps scale terribly to tablets with standard resolution (1280x800). Think about the Facebook and Twitter apps... If you increase the resolution, does the text just get even smaller while the columns stay the same size, or does the text stay the same size (and just appear sharper).

Android already sucks on tablets, because the most apps don't scale properly, and aren't designed for tablets. Having a high-res screen potentially makes this probably even worse, but this review doesn't even mention that.

Android apps aren't based purely on resolution, but on DPI (dots per inch). I have yet to see apps that "scale terribly" on my tablet (1200x800 variety). A properly written app shouldn't have *anything* in the code referencing actual pixels, but should have everything setup based on the DPI units, and the Android OS will scale that to fit the available pixels as needed. Any app you come across that doesn't do this (I have heard of a few in the past, and I know the Facebook app was an offender) you need to contact the app developer and tell him to code his app properly :)

And, also, keep in mind: apps that don't scale properly isn't a problem with Android, but with the way the app itself is written. The Android team has taken great steps (especially with 3.0+) to give dev's a way to make app interfaces that will seamlessly work on a variety of screen sizes and resolutions. It's not their fault if the dev's don't use those tools. Blame where blame is due.

So they released the Prime with a higher resolution screen and fixed the GPS...did I miss anything else - cause this seems like a good way to replace the faulty prime with a new product model (and not much else). Throw me another Gb of ram at least...it's so cheap it's coming in cereal boxes these days...

Just a quick note: Yes, PC ram is super cheap these days. That said, I'm sure this thing is not sporting 168-pin DIMM's. You have to remember that the ram for these is specially manufactured for size and built directly onto the main board, which not only makes it significantly more expensive than "off-the-shelf" ram sticks, but they also have serious size constraints to work within.

Just something to keep in mind. I'm sure they figured 1gB was the best compromise between size, cost, heat (yes, RAM generates heat too), and performance.

Cool basically sounds like my TF201 with a higher resolution screen. The Asus line is really pretty cool with the Keyboard option. Glad to see they did something to address the GPS. The dongle Asus sent me is kinda silly but I guess if I really needed to use the GPS on it I'm glad Asus attempted to correct the issue.

What I don't understand is why Asus would change the keyboard SKU if there is n change to the keyboard. Seems like a waste of company funds to me.

These guys need to scrap rear cameras on tablets already, they're just not worth it! Add a rear track pad, or a digitizer, or a cellular modem, or something else. Asus does really make an attractive tablet and I'm hoping they put this much design effort in the Nexus tablet because at this point it's still what I'm leaning towards.

I believe your question is intended to be "does *Google Maps* work without WiFi/Cell connection?" And the answer is yes/no.

The GPS is just a piece of hardware within the tablet and doesn't specifically require a WiFi connection to function. The Google Maps application, however, *does* require a connection to the internet to be able to download and display maps of your current area.

That said, Google Maps is capable of "caching" map data to the tablet's storage, if you know in advance *where* you're going to be using the GPS without an internet connection. Beyond that, there's also WiFi tethering from your cell :)

I'll probably get blasted for this, and whatever... and no I am not a troll. but this is new, and everytime i have used, or watched a review on an android tablet, even just watching it scroll through menus... it never looks as smooth, fast, or responsive as an ipad.

I only own 1 apple product, and its an ipad 2, so I am not some fanboy... I had a xoom first, and hated it, and have used a transformer prime. And even this doesnt look or seem as fast and responsive.. I just dont understand what it is

I'm not gonna blast you. I have an iPad 2 and a Galaxay Tab 10.1 in the house. I use the Tab all the time, but that's because the iPad is either being used by the wife, kid #1 or kid #2. If it is ever available, I usually grab it over the Tab.

The tablet apps for the iPad are better (Facebook on an Android table?!? Are you kidding me? That's the best you could come up with??) and everything just seems to be smoother. Can't recall the last time an app crashed on the iPad but I get a crash every time I use the Tab.

Also, iTunes gift cards are a killer option. My kids get them as gifts and use them all the time. Don't have that option with Google Play and I'll be damned if I let the kids go wild with my credit card.

Oops, didn't mean for this to be an anti-Android reply... My Tab did become much more useful and stable once I rooted it and installed CM9 (ICS) though...

Respect your opinion, and do not doubt your experience; however, I have different experiences / opinion. I am a gadget addict, and have several Android tablets / several iPads. My first choice is one of the android tablets over the iPad because every time I use the iPad I encounter one of its limitations, and have to use a laptop, or android tablet to complete the task. Some of my Android tablets are as smooth as the iPad, and some are not. I like the Galaxy line of tablets overall, but smoothness is not one of their strong points at least the 8.9, and 10.1. The 7.7 Galaxy is one of my favorites.

Some iPad apps are indeed fine, but some are just the iPhone app with better graphics, and a panel which was required because the iPhone apps. look so pixelated on the IPad. I find Android apps seem to scale better. App. the same % of my Android apps have the fragments as iPad apps have the extra panels. Concerning stability, I have to reset my iPads, or force close an iPad app as often as any Android tablet. You do not see a message that the application stopped like with Android, but it has. I also have found that many Android apps not advertised as tablet specific do have the fragments when used on a tablet including the Note.

I would have agreed with you UNTIL the Prime and ICS came out. Up to that point Android tablets were laggy and Honeycomb was cumbersome. However, with the updated hardware and OS the Prime is great. You get all the benefits of Android (customizable, not locked down, easily rootable) and similar, if not better, performance than the iPad.

I don't have anything against Apple, my laptop is a Macbook, but I do have an Android phone and like having my phone and tablet in the same ecosystem. It saves me a lot of money on apps :)

I'm also a bit disappointed in this review. I wanted to read how it performs with games, especially with graphically complex games. The Verge had an article comparing graphics performance in the new iPad vs. iPad2, and apparently, the new iPad has a hard time keeping the frame rate up because of the insanely high amount of pixels it has to push. I really wanted to know if the TF700 has a similar problem.

Yup - the biggest change to this tablet and any other high-end tablets will be the jump to 1080p resolution. And as much as I like having crisper images, I really want to know how it affects usability and performance. Apple had to make some significant changes just to maintain their performance expectations and battery life.

I want to see the following:
Side by side and zoomed screen comparisons to the new iPad, Acer Iconia Tab A700, and Transformer Prime.
Web page rendering comparisons.
Game load time comparisons.
and
Remote Desktop usablity with keyboard dock. and how much more real-estate you get...To all those clamoring about wanting Win8 on a tablet, well...learn to RDP. I just create VM's and have xp/7/8 all usable and accessible to me from any tablet... I just hate panning around a crumby low res screens.

Couldn't agree more with you on RDP. I personally don't want to carry around a 2lb device (MS Surface) with crap battery life for the rare occasion when I want to use it like a PC. I'd rather have a transformer that weighs 1.3 lbs (without the dock) and has incredible battery life.

Honestly, if I want to do work I'll probably just grab my work laptop anyways. Citrix covers most of my needs as long as I have a network connection.

I use Wyse PocketCloud RDP on both my iPad (3rd Gen) and Transformer Prime. On the iPad PocketCloud takes advantage of the higher resolution to show my entire PC's desktop at native resolution, which is something I'm looking forward to with the Infinity and the keyboard dock.

Phil, did you actually try using a Transformer Prime keyboard dock with the Transformer Infinity? ASUS says on their website that the Infinity keyboard dock is compatible with the Prime, but the Prime keyboard dock is NOT compatible with the Infinity. This is disappointing if true, because I hung on to my Prime keyboard dock based on the information that came out of CES (even though I've been semi-expecting an "update" that in fact the Prime keyboard would not be compatible with the new Infinity).

Engadget's review says the same thing - that the Prime's dock will work with the Infinity. After rolling through the comments on Engadget's review, the author chimed in with this:

"Indeed, other readers have asked about this. The ASUS PR I work with told me directly before I published the review that the Prime dock works with the Infinity tablet. Once I saw the specs listed online, I asked him to clarify / confirm what he already told me. He still insists the Prime dock works with the Infinity, and he's bringing the matter to the attention of the folks over at ASUS HQ. It could be the website is just wrong (this wouldn't be the first time I've seen a company list incorrect specs). But, if it turns out I was given misinformation, I'll happily update the review."

Phil replied to me on G+ as well and that's the same information he received from ASUS; there's a minimum firmware you need to be on but other than that it supposedly is good to go. Fingers crossed it actually works :) Might just be a little tight in the hinge since the Infinity is .01" thicker. Guess we'll know once they start shipping.

THANK YOU this reviewer didn't do his job, no big surprise i mean look at the guy, but my old prime dock sure doesn't fit on my infinity. Lock holes don't line up. Great job with the misinformation Phil.

My Transformer Prime Rocks. This is the same thing just fine tuned with that low voltage 5th so let's say perfected. I recommend the transformer prime to anyone and the keyboard is where this sets asus apart from acer and others.

I am new to tablets having 2 pc laptops a desktop computer pc and an Android smart phone. I find it interesting this review skips over any mention of the TF300. The differences I am reading in the Infinty is it has better graphics and a "partial" metal back.
Buck for buck, $385 for the TF300(32gig) and $109 for the TF300 keyboard/dock from Walmart at this writing, matched at BestBuy, I cant see spending the extra money for the Infinity. My TF300 will fall well into the return policy if the Infinty releases on time and I find the graphics that much better but I some how doubt I'm going to. I would be more prone to return the TF300 to give the New iPad a run for my money given if i dont see much improvement over my TF300 that I would return it and re-purchase the TF300 if not the Prime if the price drops.
The thing of releasing the Prime with issues then the TF300 with a platsic back that seems to fix those issues, a cross between the Transformer and TF Prime and now the TF700 Infinity, the Prime done correctly (with plastic on the back) seems to leave a bad taste in my mouth like skunked beer on a hot day. It reacks of they cant do as good a job as apple with the metal backed ipads and the close releases seem to say let us screw you for what we can while we baffle you with B/S.
BTW, I have no issues with the plastic back on the TF300, i like the sprial design. Maybe this being my first and possibly only tablet i will ever own perhaps i just dont know any better. At these prices one can buy a damn nice laptop, almost even one of these little apple laptops throwing just a few more dollars at it.

I think Asus should add a DVD or BD drive as part of the dock (if not then Lenovo will!) as well as extra storage like a slot for SSD. This will add a little more weight but it'll benefit the transformer immensely. That's what docks do. It'll balance better too. Anyhow, it's a nice tablet overall if you can take the few issues mentioned in http://www.squidoo.com/asus-tf700t

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